Jeanne Rohner donned an apron to help draw in bidders for the apple pie she baked for the auction benefiting Mental Health America of Colorado. Photo by Joanne Davidson, The Denver Post)

In my column for the print edition of tomorrow’s Denver Post (10/13/2010), I write about Tribute, the signature fundraiser for Mental Health America of Colorado. It’s a dinner honoring Don and Patty Cook, and includes both silent and live auctions.

One of the most popular items in the live bidding was an apple pie that MHAC’s president/CEO Jeanne Rohner baked for the occasion. Michael Touff, husband of MHAC board member Pegi Touff, beat out all contenders with a winning bid of $550.

Study after study has shown that when it comes to charitable fundraisers, Denver has more per capita than any comparably sized city in the nation. Joanne Davidson has been covering them for The Denver Post since 1985, coming here from her native California where she'd spent the previous seven years as San Francisco bureau chief for U.S. News & World Report magazine.